The present invention relates to a device for holding a plurality of perforated sheets or the like. These devices are commonly referred to as binders, and include at least a base member and a plurality of rings for holding the sheets.
Numerous prior binders include several independent pieces which are required to be assembled together to complete the device. Thus, the cost of assembly needs to be added to the overall cost of the device. The binder is relatively expensive as compared to the cost of the paper it binds together.
Binders are also assembled in the form of a conventional notebook, wherein the number of sheets that can be adequately carried is limited to the width of the base member. Many looseleaf notebooks, therefore, have relatively wide base members and, of course, require a cover member to be integrated into the assembly.
Some binders have protruding locking means which obstruct free movement of the sheets on the rings. The locking means on the binders may not latch in all directions and is subject to being inadvertently opened or distorted out of alignment; still other binders require the use of both hands to release the latch.